A WALK-IN GP surgery was shut at the weekend amid fears the deadly Ebola virus had spread to the city.
The scare was at the City of Coventry Health Centre in Hillfields where a man entered on Saturday (October 11) complaining of a fever.
He was later admitted to University Hospital where staff diagnosed an infectious disease – but it was not the virus which has killed more than 4,000 people in West Africa in this year’s outbreak.
The walk-in centre on Stoney Stanton Road was closed for around two hours from 3.30pm so it could be cleaned.
A spokeswoman for Coventry and Rugby Clinical Commissioning Group, said: “Test results have now shown that the patient is not suffering from Ebola.
“However, following advice from the health protection team at Public Health England in the West Midlands, we did apply precautionary measures immediately, closed the centre for a short period, and cleaned the centre appropriately. The centre is now open and is operating normally.
“This incident has allowed us to test the NHS procedures for dealing with Ebola in Coventry and Warwickshire and the public should be reassured that we have been able to do this successfully.”
The man who sparked the Ebola fears had recently returned from Nigeria, one of the countries which has been hardest hit along with Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.
More than 8,000 people have been infected according to the World Health Organization, in what is the largest outbreak since the virus was discovered in 1976.
Infection occurs via direct contact with someone with the disease, with death caused by multiple organ failure or dehydration.
So far there has only been a handful of cases outside West Africa and none in the UK.
A spokesman from University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust said it had robust procedures in place to ensure all patients, staff and members of the public are protected.
